Something like this would have been unimaginable before Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979. Israel killed 16 people carrying half a ton of explosives coming from Egypt—pre-’79, escalation, if not all-out war, would have been more likely than handing the thing over to the state they came from. This debunks theclaimsthatthe Israeli-Egyptian peace is hollow because it was made with an Egyptian autocrat rather than with the Egyptian people.

True, Egyptians are not fond of Israelis. Egyptians have vandalized and rioted in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo, and Egyptian TV has recently exposed the depth of anti-Israel sentiment in the country. This can hardly be expected to create feelings of love in Israeli hearts. But you make peace with your enemies, not with your friends. And ultimately, it is leaders who make policy, not protesters on the street. Both Israel and Egypt want this peace to hold. So it’s not a fake peace. Lets not make it out to be one.